Questions To Ask Your Wedding Florist
When searching for a Florist, here are a few key elements you should have already completed. Your wedding date, your venue, and your color palette/overall style, theme or design idea. Having these things already in line will help you with finding the right florist for your needs and will help the florist create a customized floral plan and quote to give you a proper estimate on cost.
Now that we have all that covered, when looking to hire a florist for your big day, you may want to interview multiple florists before you decide who you want to work with. Different florists have different price points, service minimums, styles and personalities so you want to make sure you find a florist who checks all your boxes and meets all your needs. I have compiled a list of questions for you to ask during your search.
Do you have our date available?
This is the first and most important question to get out at the very begining of your conversation. Dates fill up quickly, especially in the Spring and Fall months, for most vendors so making sure they have room on their calendar for your wedding is super important!
Can we see a portfolio of your work?
If your date is available, you want to make sure your style and the florist's style match. Most florists can do lots of different looks and work with lots of different flower types and styles but, like any other artist, they have a style that makes them unique in their niche. You will want to work with someone whose artwork and skills you fully trust and align with. These days, you can usually learn more about the florist’s style by checking out their website and social media platforms ahead of time. This will help you narrow down your search before talking with them.
Are You Familiar With Our venue?
Using a florist that is used to and comfortable with your venue’s layout and rules/restrictions can certainly come in handy but shouldn’t be a deal breaker. Most florists are able to work with your venue to help create beautiful floral magic for your big day! However, if your florist is already familiar with the space, they may be able to provide additional suggestions/recommendations for your overall floral design. You can always ask your venue for a list of their preferred vendors as well.
Are you willing to work with our cake decorator if we choose to add flowers to our cake?
This may be something you haven’t officially figured out yet but, it’s a good question to ask. Making sure your florist is able to work alongside your cake baker/decorator to create a beautiful and cohesive floral design on your cake will help tie everything together.
What Flowers do you recommend for our theme or style?
Bring along photos or your Pinterest board to your design meeting with a florist to give them some examples of the style you are looking to create and your overall wedding vision. This will help them better narrow down types of florals that will work with your design, color palette, season and budget.
Can we get an itemized list of costs for all of the elements we discussed today? (itemized quote)
Getting an outlined and itemized quote from each florist will help you better understand the cost and what you are getting for that cost, with each option you are considering. Budget can often times play a role in this decision making process but it shouldn’t be the only thing you consider. The value and quality of service you are getting for your money should always outway the actual cost.
How Soon Do We Need To Make A Decision?
If a florist is in high demand or your wedding is taking place in a busy season, you will want to make sure you ask your florist this question. Some florists will hold your date for you for a few days/weeks without a deposit and some will require a deposit in order to reserve the date so this is always good to know. This will also help you better prepare for the amount of time you have to get things locked in.
What does your booking process look like?
You will also want to ask your florist if deposits are non-refundable/non-transferrable to a new date and how they prefer to receive deposits and payments (do they take credit cards, cash, checks, money orders, Venmo, etc). You will also want to ask them if they offer payment plans and if they can provide you with a breakdown of when each payment would be due. This way you can be prepared to make your initial deposit when you are ready to lock your florist in for your date and plan ahead for your remaining balance payments.
I hope this information helps you better prepare for finding and selecting the perfect florist for your wedding day!
Happy Planning <3
Naticia
